Draconia Offline vol. 2

96.1. Without Erik - Part 1

"Love, Erik just needs some alone time," Gotrid hugs me because he can see that I'm starting to freak out. "I know that this is the first time Erik wants to be separated from you, but why do you automatically blame yourself you did something wrong? You didn't. Erik is overwhelmed by what he learned today and feels the need to think out of your telepathic influence, that's all."

"B-but... what if he.... because I might be...," I have difficulties saying it out loud and want to get out of bed, but Gotrid doesn't let me.

"Probably and who wouldn't be shocked?" he embraces me tighter. "Gosh, I'm still in shock myself. I take it more easily only because I have hundreds of years ahead of me to spend with you."

"I don't want to be immortal!" I finally say that word. "It means that I'll be watching both of you die."

"Shh," he covers me with his wings. "You have us now. Why think about the distant future?"

"It's my job as the Emperor to think about the distant future," I remind him. "I can't help it."

"Right," he sighs and caresses my face. "Close your eyes, hon, try to match your erratic breathing with mine."

The moment I close my eyes, I send my mind to Erik on reflex. Gotrid grabs my chin and kisses me to make me pull my mind back. I force myself to fully connect to Gotrid so that I'm not tempted anymore to reach out. I don't think that I'll be able to fall asleep this anxious, but his comforting mind soothes me eventually.

*****

"Welcome back, son," my father greets me when I regain consciousness in a dream state. It seemed to me as if I appeared here the moment I closed my eyes, but I think that I must have been sleeping for a few hours before that because one doesn't have dreams in the early stages of a sleep cycle.

My father is wearing the same clothes as he did during the dinner, but I guess he chose that. I hope that I'll learn how to control the dream state soon because I'm at his mercy here. How does a Divementis induce a ludic dream anyway? However, for once, I don't feel enthusiastic about the exploration.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, noticing my grim expression.

"Erik didn't take the news well even though It's not even confirmed yet," I decide to tell him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, son, I really am," he expresses sympathy and sounds honest. "But rest assured—it takes an exceptional human to make a Divementis fall in love. So far, you're only the second Divementis after me who bonded with a human. I'm sure your husband will come around."

"My Mom left, though," I point out, crushed just thinking about the possibility of it. "Erik could leave, too. Do the Divementis have divorces?"

"No, we don't, it's unthinkable for us," he shakes his head. "Unless one partner dies, our bonds last forever. We're locked both mentally and chemically. We never stop loving our partners. You might have the unique ability to bond with more partners at the same time, but I'm afraid this applies to you without a change."

"But Mom... she left you," I bite my lip, fearing the worst.

"It seems that humans can leave if they use all their willpower," he confirms slowly. "Amelia did leave from her own initiative even though it must have been tearing her apart. I wonder if her anguish was as painful as mine. For apparent reasons, we lack data on the subject."

"I want to see more memories of her," I demand.

"I'll show you then," he agrees.

*****

Amelia takes off the VR helmet and ruffles her red hair. The Divementis have an indifferent opinion on the standards of human beauty, but Althorion finds this woman immensely beautiful. He's been interested in her ever since she joined the internal development team and hasn't missed a chance to cooperate closely with her.

"It was much better than before, but I still encountered too many glitches," Amelia reports. "Also, the surroundings blurred every time I turned my head too quickly. Admittedly, it's way beyond current human technology, but I was still fully aware that it's just a game. As far as immersion goes, I'd rate it twenty-five percent at best."

"It's a prototype, we will make it better," the Divementis Emperor says firmly, happy that his newest human coworker isn't afraid to give honest feedback.

"You will need humans to design quests, though," Amelia says critically. "The quest I tried to complete was too... Divementis. I didn't feel engaged and the objective was confusing."

"We're working on getting more human developers involved," he assures her. "It's a lengthy process because there are too many security risks."

"Right, they would be working with aliens—literally," Amelia laughs and stands up.

Too quickly. Her head spins because experimental VR helmets often cause nausea (something they haven't been able to fix yet) and she loses balance. Without thinking, Althorion automatically rushes to catch her. Despite his meticulous training, he connects to her on reflex and gets a taste of her mind.

"Sorry," the Emperor mumbles, desperately trying to hide the fact how much he liked it. After making sure that she can stand straight, he unwillingly lets go of her.

"That's okay," Amelia gasps for breath and blushes. "It just caught me unprepared. I hope you didn't see anything too embarrassing. How does it work anyway? Can you see in more detail when you touch people? Can you make it a two-way channel even with humans?"

"We can," he nods slowly, a bit hesitant about how much he should tell her. "Sure, there are things we can't share with humans, but we evolved in a world with four other sentient races. Unlike the Enemy, we adapted so that we're able to connect to non-telepaths."

"I'd like to try it," she suggests eagerly.

"Try... it?" Althorion tilts his head, confused.

"A full telepathic connection," she explains. "Preferably with Your Majesty who is the strongest telepath."

"A full telepathic connection is too intimate," he shakes his head. "We've never tried that with humans."

"I might be an exception?" she winks at him. "Isn't Your Majesty curious about what it feels like to connect fully to a human mind? Who knows—you might discover something that will help with our research. We aim to alter human perception, after all."

"I am... curious," he admits and chews his lip. She has a point.

"Consider it part of work, Your Majesty," she teases him. "You want to start influencing human brains in twenty years through a videogame which is something unheard of even for your highly technologically advanced race."

Althorian can't take his eyes off this human woman. How can she be so bold? Does she have no fear? He can't wait to explore her mind.

*****

The vision dissolves and we're back. I study my father's expression because he looks moved by reliving that particular memory. I realise how far he is from that emotionless alien I initially took him for.

"Your mother was so bold," he says with a faint smile. "She was never afraid of me. On the contrary, she was constantly challenging me."

"Did you fall in love during that full connection?" I blurt out, dying with curiosity. "How did you manage to hide your relationship?"

"That's a story for tomorrow," he concludes the session. "As much as I'd love to show you everything, I decided to limit our meetings in a dream state for one hour each night. You will be training and working hard in the upcoming weeks, so you need to be well-rested."

"No, wait, we can do one more...!" I try to stop him, but everything blurs and my brain slips into deep sleep again.